The holiday season might be coming to a close but we still have one more long weekend ahead of us and many of us plan to travel one last time before going back to the daily grind. Let’s take a minute to refresh on some important travel tips if you plan to head out on your travels this weekend, accompanied by your pet.

Every year many holiday travelers include their pets in their travel plans. It is nice to be able to take them with you and have your pet around for holiday celebrations. Of course, traveling with pets can be a tricky undertaking. The following are ten tips for traveling with your pet this holiday season.

* Make sure your accommodations are pet friendly. Whether you are staying in a hotel or with friends or family a call ahead to make sure your pet is welcome is critical.

* Your pet should be up-to-date on all of his vaccinations and have had a recent check-up before traveling.

* Ensure that your pet has his collar with tags and/or is micro-chipped. When traveling with your pet incidents can occur causing you to be separated. You need to make sure your pet can be identified and that you can be contacted should this happen.

* Pack for your pet just as you would yourself; bowl and food, favorite blanket, toys, etc.

* If you are flying try to get direct flights wherever possible to avoid long layovers and additional stress on your pet.

* Take breaks during the course of your travel to allow your pet to stretch his legs and take a water break.

* If possible, crate your pet for a road trip. It is unsafe for your pet to be jumping around in the car and/or hanging his head out of the window.

* Whether flying or traveling by car make your pet comfortable with the crate before you leave. Also, include familiar items such as a favorite blanket or toy.

* Never leave your pet alone in a parked car.

* When you reach your destination try to keep your pet calm and relaxed until he is able to become accustomed to his new surroundings

Enjoy your trip! Pack some Holistic Select® Holistix for a midway snack if your bringing Fido on your final holiday getaway.

Tags: Holiday, Pets, Safety, Travel, Trip

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 1:33 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.